Harry Frankfurt's work on higher-order desires demonstrates that agents can freely endorse first-order desires that external observers deem self-destructive, without thereby losing authentic autonomous agency.

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Authentic(as used in ethics): Genuine or real; in this case, morality that comes from your own true choice rather than from external pressure or obvious reward.
First-order desires(in philosophy of action and autonomy): What you directly want to do or have right now—like wanting to eat chocolate or wanting to sleep in.
Harry Frankfurt(as a modern philosopher referenced in debates about God's power): A 20th-century American philosopher who wrote about the nature of God's omnipotence and whether an all-powerful being can be limited by its own nature.
Higher-order desires(as a key concept in Frankfurt's theory): Desires about your desires—like wanting to want something, or wanting to stop wanting something. For example, wanting to want to exercise, or wanting to stop wanting junk food.
Self-destructive(as describing the kind of desires an external observer might judge negatively): Harmful to yourself; actions or desires that damage your own wellbeing or work against your own interests.
autonomous agency(as used in ethics and philosophy of action): Your ability to make decisions for yourself based on your own reasoning and values, without outside control.

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